Phys.org news tagged with:pollutershttp://phys.org/
en-usPhys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine.Obama to unveil 'biggest step ever' in climate fightUS President Barack Obama will Monday unveil what he called the "biggest, most important step we've ever taken" to fight climate change, a sensitive issue central to his legacy.http://phys.org/news/2015-08-obama-unveil-biggest-climate.html
Environment Sun, 02 Aug 2015 14:30:01 EDTnews357742969Smog threatens visitors to U.S. national parks: report(HealthDay)—Air pollution afflicts many national parks across the United States, a new study suggests.http://phys.org/news/2015-08-smog-threatens-visitors-national.html
Environment Sat, 01 Aug 2015 02:50:02 EDTnews357612729Air-quality sensors on cars at heart of Aclima-Google partnershipSensors to map air pollution represent an ambitious project involving Google. A number of tech sites are talking about its activities in strapping Aclima sensors to Street View cars. Aclima is in the business of delivering "internet-connected sensor networks."http://phys.org/news/2015-07-air-quality-sensors-cars-heart-aclima-google.html
Environment Fri, 31 Jul 2015 02:03:47 EDTnews357526979Olympic teams to swim, boat in Rio's filthAthletes competing in next year's Summer Olympics here will be swimming and boating in waters so contaminated with human feces that they risk becoming violently ill and unable to compete in the games, an Associated Press investigation has found.http://phys.org/news/2015-07-olympic-teams-boat-rio-filth.html
Environment Thu, 30 Jul 2015 03:16:12 EDTnews357444958Court orders EPA to redo air-pollution limits in 13 statesA federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to relax some limits it set on smokestack emissions that cross state lines and taint downwind areas with air pollution from power plants.http://phys.org/news/2015-07-court-epa-redo-air-pollution-limits.html
Environment Tue, 28 Jul 2015 13:54:35 EDTnews357310469States can lower electric bills with clean power planThe U.S. electric system faces an array of challenges. Sluggish demand growth and the rise of solar power challenge the ability of utilities to recover their costs. The digital economy requires reliable power quality, and growing cyber threats call for increased investments in grid security. On top of these issues, global climate disruption suggests that energy systems need to be transformed. As a result, most forecasts predict that electricity bills will rise significantly over the next several decades.http://phys.org/news/2015-07-states-electric-bills-power.html
Energy & Green Tech Tue, 28 Jul 2015 06:50:14 EDTnews357285007New study 'fingerprints' emissions from UK municipal waste incineratorsThe National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has contributed to a new study, which 'fingerprints' emissions from UK municipal waste incinerators (MWIs) to assess their impact on air pollution levels.http://phys.org/news/2015-07-fingerprints-emissions-uk-municipal-incinerators.html
Environment Fri, 24 Jul 2015 09:00:02 EDTnews356943523Stadium lighting affects bat behavior and may threaten biodiversityA new Animal Conservation study shows that sports stadium lighting can alter patterns of bat species activity and feeding, which may in turn have cascading effects on other organisms and the ecosystem as a whole.http://phys.org/news/2015-07-stadium-affects-behavior-threaten-biodiversity.html
Ecology Fri, 24 Jul 2015 01:36:11 EDTnews356920559Banned chemical pollutant lowers fertility in UK porpoisesA collaborative study led by international conservation charity the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has found that harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) are struggling to successfully reproduce as a result of chemical pollutants found in European waters.http://phys.org/news/2015-07-chemical-pollutant-lowers-fertility-uk.html
Ecology Wed, 22 Jul 2015 14:30:03 EDTnews356793346China air pollution levels fall: GreenpeaceAir pollution levels in China's cities improved in the first six months of this year, environmental campaign group Greenpeace said Wednesday, but remained far worse than global and domestic standards.http://phys.org/news/2015-07-china-air-pollution-fall-greenpeace.html
Environment Wed, 22 Jul 2015 02:50:01 EDTnews356749423In search of a healthy and energy efficient buildingImagine if, in an effort to clean the air more efficiently, you were involuntarily introducing chemicals more dangerous than the ones you were trying to scrub. Concordia University researchers have found that this exact situation is happening with a type of air filter called photocatalytic oxidation (PCO), a product already on the market. The chemical by-product? Formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen.http://phys.org/news/2015-07-healthy-energy-efficient.html
Energy & Green Tech Wed, 15 Jul 2015 12:29:48 EDTnews356182181Air pollution costs France 100 billion euros per yearThe effects of air pollution cost France some 100 billion euros ($110.1 billion) each year, a French Senate committee report estimated Wednesday, citing impact to health as the major expense.http://phys.org/news/2015-07-air-pollution-france-billion-euros.html
Environment Wed, 15 Jul 2015 05:44:13 EDTnews356157847Researchers find mechanism that ties human-caused air pollution to catastrophic floods in southwest ChinaFollowing the trail of the 2013 Sichuan flood in southwest China, researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and their collaborators found that heavy human-caused air pollution over the Sichuan Basin just upwind contributed to the catastrophic flood. Through a series of events they call "aerosol-enhanced conditional instability," tiny particles from heavy air pollution absorb heat from the sun, stabilize the atmosphere, and suppress local storms during the daytime. However, this allows the heavy moist and now warm air to be transported downwind to mountainous areas where it is lifted causing extreme nighttime precipitation. The research was published in Geophysical Research Letters and highlighted by Nature.http://phys.org/news/2015-07-mechanism-ties-human-caused-air-pollution.html
Earth Sciences Thu, 09 Jul 2015 06:05:45 EDTnews355640736Study shows mercury scrubbers at Oregon power plant lower other pollution, tooAir pollution controls installed at an Oregon coal-fired power plant to curb mercury emissions are unexpectedly reducing another class of harmful emissions as well, an Oregon State University study has found.http://phys.org/news/2015-07-mercury-scrubbers-oregon-power-pollution.html
Environment Wed, 08 Jul 2015 08:30:12 EDTnews355562236Image: ISS moon transitThis image of the moon was taken by amateur photographer Dylan O'Donnell as the International Space station passed by at 28 800 km/h. At such speeds the weightless research laboratory was visible for only about a third of a second before returning to the dark skies.http://phys.org/news/2015-07-image-iss-moon-transit.html
Space Exploration Wed, 08 Jul 2015 07:10:02 EDTnews355556459EPA chief: Climate plan on track despite mercury rulingA Supreme Court ruling that undermined a federal rule targeting mercury pollution will not affect the Obama administration's plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions to slow the effects of global warming, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.http://phys.org/news/2015-07-epa-chief-climate-track-mercury.html
Environment Tue, 07 Jul 2015 18:20:02 EDTnews355511110Historic environmental awareness is changing ChinaIn China, there has been an explosion of interest in the environment. There is every indication that extreme air pollution is driving new visions of sustainability and new formats of interaction between the political authorities and the people.http://phys.org/news/2015-07-historic-environmental-awareness-china.html
Environment Mon, 06 Jul 2015 08:46:58 EDTnews355391201Nationwide study measures short-term spike in July 4 particulate matterFrom our nation's founding, the Fourth of July has been synonymous with fireworks.http://phys.org/news/2015-06-nationwide-short-term-spike-july-particulate.html
Environment Tue, 30 Jun 2015 10:30:05 EDTnews354876993Can pollution help trees fight infection?Trees that can tolerate soil pollution are also better at defending themselves against pests and pathogens. "It looks like the very act of tolerating chemical pollution may give trees an advantage from biological invasion", says Dr Frederic E. Pitre of the University of Montreal and one of the researchers behind the discovery.http://phys.org/news/2015-06-pollution-trees-infection.html
Ecology Mon, 29 Jun 2015 19:00:03 EDTnews354810469Recent mercury pollution on the rise, but quick to changeA Dartmouth-led study using a 600-year-old ice core shows that global mercury pollution increased dramatically during the 20th century, but that mercury concentrations in the atmosphere decreased faster than previously thought beginning in the late 1970s when emissions started to decline.http://phys.org/news/2015-06-mercury-pollution-quick.html
Environment Mon, 29 Jun 2015 14:03:57 EDTnews354805430Justices rule against EPA power plant mercury limitsThe Supreme Court ruled Monday against the Obama administration's attempt to limit power plant emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants, but it may only be a temporary setback for regulators.http://phys.org/news/2015-06-justices-epa-power-mercury-limits.html
Environment Mon, 29 Jun 2015 11:31:39 EDTnews354796292Dropping the volume around schools can improve learningThere's no escaping noise, whether it's caused by traffic, construction, or planes flying overhead. Usually we have no choice but to get on with our daily lives and in many instances noise is little more than an annoyance. But children may be affected differently to adults, particularly when continuous noise is an environmental feature of their place of learning.http://phys.org/news/2015-06-volume-schools-improvelearning.html
Social Sciences Mon, 22 Jun 2015 09:00:01 EDTnews354178900Chilean capital in first pollution emergency in 16 yearsDangerously high pollution levels have Chile's capital on the brink of issuing an environmental emergency, the first such time the measure is to be implemented in 16 years.http://phys.org/news/2015-06-chilean-capital-pollution-emergency-years.html
Environment Mon, 22 Jun 2015 02:02:34 EDTnews354157347EPA proposes tougher fuel-efficiency standards for trucksThe Obama administration on Friday proposed tough new standards to improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide pollution from trucks and vans, the latest move by President Barack Obama to address global warming.http://phys.org/news/2015-06-tougher-fuel-efficiency-standards-trucks.html
Environment Fri, 19 Jun 2015 19:40:14 EDTnews353961605Is city biking hazardous to your health?People used to say that exercising in New York City was like smoking a pack of cigarettes. Luckily, conditions have vastly improved, according to a recent NYC Health Department report, but some areas of the city continue to have high levels of pollution. Meanwhile, many more people are biking to and from work as the network of bike paths is expanded and the Citibike program continues to grow. How much pollution are bikers exposed to, and what effects might it be having on their health?http://phys.org/news/2015-06-city-biking-hazardous-health.html
Environment Thu, 18 Jun 2015 08:50:02 EDTnews353832266400,000-year-old dental tartar provides earliest evidence of manmade pollutionMost dentists recommend a proper teeth cleaning every six months to prevent, among other things, the implacable buildup of calculus or tartar—hardened dental plaque. Routine calculus buildup can only be removed through the use of ultrasonic tools or dental hand instruments. But what of 400,000-year-old dental tartar?http://phys.org/news/2015-06-year-old-dental-tartar-earliest-evidence.html
Archaeology & Fossils Wed, 17 Jun 2015 11:42:04 EDTnews353760099India, China need cleaner air just to keep death rate steadyNever mind lowering the rate of death from air pollution in India and China. Just keeping those rates steady will demand urgent action to clear the skies, according to a report published Tuesday.http://phys.org/news/2015-06-india-china-cleaner-air-death.html
Environment Tue, 16 Jun 2015 07:06:32 EDTnews353657173Meeting global air quality guidelines could prevent 2.1 million deaths per yearImproving air quality—in clean and dirty places—could reduce pollution-related deaths worldwide by millions of people each year. That finding comes from a team of environmental engineering and public health researchers who developed a global model of how changes in outdoor air pollution could lead to changes in the rates of health problems such as heart attack, stroke and lung cancer.http://phys.org/news/2015-06-global-air-quality-guidelines-million.html
Environment Tue, 16 Jun 2015 05:00:02 EDTnews353604502Spanish software tracks the source of faecally polluted waterSpanish scientists have developed a new piece of software to predict the source of faecal pollution in seas, reservoirs and rivers. The system, called Ichnaea, uses the automatic learning and analysis of various biological indicators to make highly reliable predictions of this type of pollution, which poses a serious health risk. The team is now looking for funding to move the whole application to the cloud.http://phys.org/news/2015-06-spanish-software-tracks-source-faecally.html
Environment Fri, 12 Jun 2015 08:35:34 EDTnews353316925New tool better protects beachgoers from harmful bacteria levelsAn international team, led by researchers at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, has developed a new, timelier method to identify harmful bacteria levels on recreational beaches. The new model provides beach managers with a better prediction tool to identify when closures are required to protect beachgoers from harmful contaminates in the water.http://phys.org/news/2015-06-tool-beachgoers-bacteria.html
Environment Wed, 10 Jun 2015 17:19:22 EDTnews353175552